Welcome to Michigan Primary Election Central. During Tuesday's primary, we continually updated this blog with the best information on the election. These are real-time updates on voter turnout, candidate appearances, election photo galleries and video, fun social media and more.

11:30 p.m.: Mitt Romney won Mackinac County by a single vote -- 667 to 666 for Rick Santorum.

11:29 p.m. It wasn’t a concession speech; Rick Santorum made that clear. The former Pennsylvania senator took to the stage at his election night party and didn’t once mention Mitt Romney by name. Instead he focused on his potential November opponent, President Obama.

11:14 p.m. Michigan native Mitt Romney could breathe a sigh of relief with a Republican primary victory here after trailing in some polls earlier in the month.

10:50 p.m.: NY Times stats guru Nate Silver weighs in on how the delegate math from the Michigan primary is likely to break down. (Delegates are awarded on a proportional basis rather than winner-take-all):

(I)t looks likely that Rick Santorum will win the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th Congressional districts in Michigan -- although that conclusion is more tenuous in the 3rd and 7th districts than the other two.

Meanwhile, it looks as though Mitt Romney will win the 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th and 14th districts.

That leaves the 1st, 4th, 5th, 10th and 13th Congressional districts as being very hard to call...

Thus, it seems possible that Mr. Romney could win as few as 5 congressional districts or as many as 10, depending on how the remaining results trickle in. It's also still possible that Mr. Santorum could win more districts despite losing the popular vote in the state.

9:22 p.m. With 22 percent of precincts reporting, Romney has taken the lead, according to The Associated Press. Romney has 41.2 percent to Santorum's 38 percent.

9:20 p.m. Mitt Romney has added to his lead in the race for convention delegates with a win in the Arizona Republican presidential primary, according to The Associated Press.

via Twitter:
Graham Davis of Truscott Rossman advocacy group (@GrahamDavis on Twitter) is at the Romney victory party and writes: "Novi, MI hasn't rocked this hard since the last Hudson's 13 Hour Sale! #Mittmentum #Romneymania"

9 p.m. NBC and CNN project that Arizona's 29 delegates will all go to Mitt Romney, but as CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer says, "Guess what, we cannot, repeat not, make a projection in Michigan right now."

8:57 p.m. Santorum and Romney are neck and neck, with Santorum at 50,967 (40.3 percent) and Romney at 49,936 (39.1 percent), according to the latest results. That's with only 10.6 percent of the precincts reporting, mostly in traditional Republican counties.

Via Twitter:
From NPR's national political correspondent Don Gonyea (@DonGonyea on Twitter): "This is also by far the nicest ballroom that Santorum has been in for an elex night. Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids."

Via Twitter:
From Public Policy Polling (@ppppolls on Twitter): "What I'm going to track tonight is the Ann Arbor precincts...some of those will be very good measures of Operation Hilarity."

7:05 p.m. New York Magazine offers six possible directions for the 2012 GOP narrative based on who wins and by how much. The adjectives get more dramatic with Santorum victory scenarios.

7 p.m. One more hour to vote! Are you voting ... and are you causing mischief? (Take our poll)

6:58 p.m. It's nightly news time! State and national media are gathering in Novi to report live ahead of Romney's election night party at the Suburban Collection Showplace.

6:22 p.m. East Lansing political consultant Mark Grebner expects 20,000 Dems to cross over to vote for a GOP candidate, likely Rick Santorum. "This whole Democratic crossover thing has been so badly organized, (I predict) that the net benefit for Santorum would be 20,000 votes,” he said. “That amounts to about, oh, about four people a precinct. So it’s not a huge number of people.”

From Twitter:
@TriciaNC1, who describes herself as a conservative and a constitutionalist, tweets a link to a Politico blog: "#Santorum denounced cross-party voting Just Three Weeks Ago politico.com/blogs/burns-ha… #tcot #teaparty #ocra #gop #migop #tlot #sgp"

4:55 p.m. The New York Times has adjusted its forecast based on final polls ahead of Michigan's GOP primary vote, and gives a slight edge to Mitt Romney over rival Rick Santorum.

4:26 p.m. Michigan Democratic political strategist Joe DiSano urged Michiganders to take part in a blog post for the Huffington Post last week. "The national press is ready to tell the story that Romney got beat on his home turf. You can help make that happen," wrote DiSano, who also paid for robo-calls to 50,000 Democratic voters urging them to vote for Sanotrum.

2:30 p.m. In reference to Romney's statement that he's not willing to light his hair on fire to garner support, New York Magazine says, "So, we have learned that there is one thing Romney values so much that he will not sacrifice it on the altar of political expediency: his hair. And you can't blame him for that, because it truly is fantastic hair." See how other media are interpreting Romney's curious statement.

From Twitter:
Comedian Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) tweets:
"#MIPrimary Trivia: Mitt Romney makes all of his robo calls himself." He's an equal-opportunity critic, as evidenced by this tweet: "The best form of birth control is visualizing Rick Santorum."

12:10 p.m.: Will the Romney-Santorum slugfest guarantee Michigan stays blue in the fall? The Atlantic’s Matthew Dowd says the vicious primary might result in an Obama victory in November, “not because of anything the Obama team has done, but because of the nature of the contest between Romney and Santorum, which has alienated many independent voters and created a tremendous divide. This isn't a good sign as the Republican nomination contest moves into other battleground states like Ohio next week.”

10:40 a.m.: In a late endorsement, Amway founder Rich DeVos and his family, including long-time GOP benefactors Dick and Betsy DeVos, announced they are backing Romney’s presidential bid. Amway Corp. owns the Amway Grand Hotel, where Rick Santorium is having is victory party tonight. You see the irony.

Via Twitter:Katy Bachelder: "I was the 70th person to vote in my ward today, and 40 of those were absentee ballots. #smalltownproblems #MIprimary"

Via Twitter:
From filmmaker Michael Moore (@MMFlint on Twitter): "Good morning fellow Michiganders! It's a great day to send the Republicans a message, and it makes me happy that we're the state to do it."

Via Twitter:
From the Michigan Non-Profit Association (@MNAonline on Twitter): "Have you been required to check a box stating that you are a US citizen before getting a ballot? Let us know! #MIPrimary"

From the comments:
Commenter zttim writes: "...Dr. Paul is advocating for a return to the type of Government
enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. And not the bloated, buearcratic,
war-mongering, civil-rights destroying, monstrosity we've been
conditioned to accept.

"It's frightening how the very concept of liberty is to some, every bit
as paralyzing as facism."

John Gonzalez/MLive.comRon Mott of MSNBC is one many national media members who is covering today's Michigan Primary 2012.

10:39 a.m.:National media is descending on Michigan, which is starring in the hottest primary in the country. Ron Mott of MSNBC is just setting up in Grand Rapids, and more national journalists are headed to Detroit.

10:30 a.m. "A lot of my Democratic friends are going to vote for (Rick) Santorum tomorrow in something they are calling, Operation Hilarity," filmmaker Michael Moore said Monday on the Rachel Maddow Show on CNBC. "We do have a good sense of humor in the state of Michigan."

10:14 a.m.: Mitt Romney says Rick Santorum’s robo-calls asking Democrats to come out and vote for him in today’s GOP primary “outrageous and disgusting, a terrible dirty trick.”
From the comments:
Commenter Knobby_Kabushka_728: "Not voting in primary, because it's stupid... I refuse to bow to the political machine in this country... All voting, be it primaries or
general should be open, free and unhindered by anything or anyone...

"And come the general election I will be voting strickly 3rd party
candidates for real change in this country..."
From Facebook:
Mark Pischea of Sterling Corporation, an advocacy group, writes, "Well - I was voter number three in Williamstown Township - and not a Democrat in sight... Did any of my Democrat friends vote in Michigan's Republican Presidential Primary today?"

9:38 a.m.Rick Santorum plans to attend a rally in Maumee, Ohio at midday before ending his day at an election night party at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids. Polls show he is running neck and neck with Mitt Romney.

9:15 a.m.: Long-time GOP donors Dick and Betsy DeVos lead an Amway-related contingent making a late entry to the Michigan Republican primary in support of Mitt Romney, according to Politico.

via Twitter:
"I was born in Michigan #MIprimary I was born in Michigan #MIprimary I was born in Michigan.#MIprimary I was born in #Michigan #Dems #gop2012"
- From the fake Mitt Romney Twitter account @WillardMiddling, whose bio says: "Former Gov of MA : Inventor of WillardCare: Now a Severe Conservative. I will say anything you want. I just want to be President of the USA so bad!"

9:14 a.m. The GOP today launched a video titled, “Obama’s Failed Promises in Michigan.” The site states: "In 2008, when visiting Grand Rapids, Michigan, Barack Obama lamented about the rising cost of gas and groceries saying things will get worse if 'we don't act,'" said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. "Unfortunately, after three years of being worse off, the only person to blame for inaction is Barack Obama."

From Facebook:
Prominent Republican consultant Colleen Pero writes: “ 'Republicans' - don’t forget to vote today! And vote for Mitt - THE candidate who can beat President Obama in November!"

8:22 a.m.: This isn't directly related to the primary, but we at MLive Media Group are pretty proud to announce a new content partnership with Bridge magazine, known for indepth public affairs reporting. Read today's package on Wayne State University's dismal graduation rate of African American students.

Via Twitter:@FederalistNo84: #MIPrimary Voter Registration/Turnout Statistics: 2008, 7,243,261 registered, 1,434,734 voting, 18.8% #MI #migop
8:13 a.m.: Two polls out late Monday indicate Rick Santorum is riding a new push that could lead him to victory in Michigan, Mitt Romney’s home state.

From Facebook:
MLive Detroit blogger Jeff Wattrick writes, "It just occurred to me that today begins the three-year election cycle. The presidential/junior senator race this year, the mayoral/council races next year, and governor/senior senators elections in 2014. This makes me very happy."

Via Twitter:@mantone1: If Santorum and the Dems win Michigan tonight then Tea Party . Rush. Levin. Palin. Hannity . Greta etc all have blood on their hands. #migop

7:37 a.m. Before Rick Santorum hosts his primary election party at the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids tonight, he’s rubbing elbows with diners at two area breakfast haunts.

7:33 a.m. MLive.com political columnist Tim Skubick writes about Democratic chair Mark Brewer subtly approving crossing over and voting for a GOP candidate: "Lots of Democrats will cross over and make mischief in the GOP race today. And nobody will go to jail for doing it and Mitt Romney could end up losing this thing as a result."

7:03 a.m. Jennifer Granholm on Politico thanks the GOP candidates for skewing so far right. She writes, "Michigan has been ground zero of the pander festival — with the candidates trying to out-right each other in town halls from Grand Rapids to Detroit." MLive columnist Tim Skubick raised the same point in his Monday column, asking how the GOP nominee will find his center after leaning so far right.

From Facebook:
Matt Bach, communications director at Michigan Municipal League, writes, "Wish I owned a polling company right about now. Someone is making big bucks."

6:26 a.m.:Michigan indeed matters, as Dave Murray writes in a piece this morning. That's because it's the springboard into March 6 - Super Tuesday - which could mean game over for someone, after a grueling race to the nomination. Here's the West Michigan perspective.

View full sizeHere's a sample ballot detailing the candidates you'll see on Tuesday's ballot. Not all candidates are still in the race, but they had to register last November. Click "View full size" for a larger image.

Frequently asked questions
Some basic information on today's election: You'll see the GOP primary has 11 candidates compared to the Democrats' one. If you need basic information on where you should vote, how you vote and more, we answer all your primary questions here. It's a great primer.

From Facebook: State Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, says, "No crossover here. The republican primary is irrelevant. Whoever is left standing will lose in November. I dont have room to describe what a phony Romney is. And, the last thing we need is senator sanctimonium. The only guy who could be remotely competitive in Michigan is Ron Paul and he will not be nominated."

From Facebook:
Associated Press reporter John Flesher writes: "I'm in Detroit to help cover the Michigan GOP primary. If the polls are accurate, it'll be a close race ... and a long night awaiting the outcome."

How to participate
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